He was nowhere near the barn when she disappeared inside. As he drew near, the earthy scent of fecund animals and old hay made for a strange, homey bouquet—that is, if one grew upon in the country. He supposed it was downright ripe for a city dweller.
The barn was silent except for the creaking of boards and the rush of a gentle breeze.
Where was she? He glanced about. The timber framing soared overhead. The stalls were empty—the new calves wouldn’t arrive until later in the spring. The first of this year’s hay harvest would be cut in a few months.
He shoved his hands in his pocket and turned, confused because Char wasn’t in the building. There was nowhere else she would go. A sprig of hay floated down from the mow and landed on his sleeve. He brushed at it, intending to exit the building and locate Lady Dunlevee. More sprigs came floating down around him.
Glancing up, he saw her head disappear and then a light giggle.
“Lady Dunlevee, I know it’s you.”
“You’re no fun,” she said, peeking over the edge. A vision, strong and striking, took him back to his youth. Except there was more than one face peering back at him. “You little twits,” his voice had scolded.
Char held a golden straw between her fingers, twirling it. “This is my hiding place.”
“It’s my father’s land.”
“Should we start another feud?”
“It was no feud. Your grandfather was a charlatan.”
“I’d advise care, sir. You are talking to a suspected murderess.”
“You have an odd sense of humor.”
“I have to laugh about it. There is nothing else for me to do. Why don’t you come on up. I could kill you with pleasure.”
His brows winged. “Hmm. That does give new meaning to ‘you’ll be the death of me’. I’ll be right up.”
Joshua glanced about and saw the ladder, wooden slats nailed into the side of the barn and leading up to the loft. He made haste, wondering as he did so how Char managed with all her skirts.
She rolled to watch him as he heaved himself through the half-round cutout in the floorboards. When he shoved to his feet, he dusted his palms against his trousers.
“Neither of us is really dressed for this,” he said.
“Hessians look good in any setting.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. How did you manage with that heap of material?” He pointed his chin at her frothy skirts.
“Well, I was alone, so I could cheat.” She demonstrated, showing a bit of leg as she drew the skirt between her legs.
“Shocking.”
“And how did you manage climbing up, what with your recent injury?”
“Well, I have my own bit of shocking news. Men forget such things as wounds when they are invited to spend time with a woman in a hayloft.”
The hay was loose and there was no convenient place to sit, so he dropped beside her. She laid back, the straw she’d held now between her lips. Her hair spread about her, not in the usual upsweep she wore. And now the strands were full of straw and hay bits.
“You’ll never get all that from your hair. What will they think when you get back to the house?”
“Oh, it is simple enough. What I miss, my lady’s maid finds. Are you worried someone will notice?
“I take it you come here often?”
“Only when I’m home and want to be alone. There’s something very wonderful about revisiting the happy past. And what are you doing here?”
“Adam and his sons are out riding. And suffering as I was with worry about the Taylor girls, I decided to get away from the house. Clear my head.”
“Kat isn’t going to be able to sit for a week.” Char laughed. “You should have seen Mama! All red in the face. Shaking her head and talking to herself. Papa will get an earful when he gets home. I didn’t really want to be part of it. And I feel a bit guilty since I was supposed to be their chaperone. I should have known one of them would be up to no good. Ah, correction. I should have known Kat would misbehave.”
Char glanced up at him. Her wide-eyed gaze was full of happiness in spite of the day. And her marriage. And the lies of her husband’s mistress.
From his vantage point, looking down, starting at the top of her head and glancing over her forehead, along her shapely nose and then skimming over her chin—the next sight was a very lush valley between her breasts, a most enjoyable view.
He leaned forward, kissing her on the lips but in an odd position. Almost an upside down kiss, but a little to the left. It was quick, not a continuation of what they had done earlier.
“Should we be doing that?” she asked. “I haven’t kissed for a long time and you are making me miss the intimacy.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
Joshua leaned back, propped up by his elbows. He scooted his ass so he was more even with her. He folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the rafters.
“Char, I was serious about my proposal.”
She turned to her side and braced her head in her hand. She used the straw and traced it over his lips. “I know you were.”
“Should I ask again? In your father’s library? Would you say yes this time?”
“Yes. No. Yes.”